EDITORIAL: The wrong side of history

Cindy Van Wyk
We live in a world where children starve while there is enough food to feed us all.

We live in a world where trillions are spent on arming nations and dealing in warfare while citizens lack the basic necessities to live fruitful and rewarding lives.

We live in a world where politicians play us like pieces on a chessboard and power-plays for more wealth consume boardrooms and cabinet chambers of so-called first world nations and others.

We live in a world where members of former liberation movements spend their time on the accumulation of meagre personal scraps, while selling their countries’ resources. Instead of using their hard-earned global collateral to wage a struggle on behalf of developing nations, these movements have been beset by gross corruption.

We live in an information age, but we are more interested in gossip and playing voyeur into the lives of the so-called rich and famous.

The corrupt are admired for the things they possess, while a human tragedy of monumental proportions plays out across the world every day.

Proximity to political and financial power determines where you will end up in life, your status and how seriously your views are considered by the general body of ‘right-thinking people’.

In the Namibian context, three decades after liberation, we are still grappling with historical hangovers while a new elite layer of wealthy politicians rubs properties, luxury vehicles and other assets in the faces of the poor.

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Namibian Sun 2024-04-26

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Premier League: Brighton 0 vs 4 Manchester City | Manchester United 4 vs 2 Sheffield United | Everton 2 vs 0 Liverpool | Crystal Palace 2 vs 0 Newcastle | Wolves 0 vs 1 Bournemouth | Arsenal 5 vs 0 Chelsea SerieA: Udinese 1 vs 2 AS Roma European Championships Qualifying: Coventry City 2 vs 3 Hull City | Leicester City 5 vs 0 Southampton English Championship: Coventry City 2 vs 3 Hull City | Leicester City 5 vs 0 Southampton Katima Mulilo: 16° | 33° Rundu: 16° | 33° Eenhana: 16° | 35° Oshakati: 17° | 34° Ruacana: 17° | 35° Tsumeb: 18° | 32° Otjiwarongo: 14° | 31° Omaruru: 16° | 34° Windhoek: 15° | 29° Gobabis: 18° | 30° Henties Bay: 15° | 22° Wind speed: 26km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 10:31, High tide: 04:30, Low Tide: 22:38, High tide: 16:57 Swakopmund: 15° | 18° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:29, High tide: 04:28, Low Tide: 22:36, High tide: 16:55 Walvis Bay: 16° | 26° Wind speed: 34km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:29, High tide: 04:27, Low Tide: 22:36, High tide: 16:54 Rehoboth: 17° | 31° Mariental: 20° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 22° | 34° Aranos: 20° | 33° Lüderitz: 13° | 24° Ariamsvlei: 20° | 35° Oranjemund: 17° | 30° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 18° | 27° Lubumbashi: 11° | 25° Mbabane: 13° | 17° Maseru: 9° | 23° Antananarivo: 14° | 27° Lilongwe: 14° | 26° Maputo: 18° | 25° Windhoek: 15° | 29° Cape Town: 15° | 27° Durban: 17° | 22° Johannesburg: 15° | 23° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 31° Lusaka: 17° | 26° Harare: 14° | 26° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.44 | EUR to NAD 20.11 | CNY to NAD 2.6 | USD to NAD 18.81 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.71 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.68 | RUB to NAD 0.21 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.22 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.79 | USD to EGP 47.85 | USD to KES 134.48 | USD to NGN 1329.44 | USD to ZAR 18.8 | USD to ZMW 26.6 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74329.37 Down -0.25% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1642.69 Up +6.30% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13346.81 Up +0.49% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25917.59 Down -3.21% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 337.21/OZ UP +0.28% | Copper US$ 4.53/lb UP +0.32% | Zinc US$ 2 859.00/T UP 0.03% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 89.07/BBP UP +0.19% | Platinum US$ 911.53/OZ DOWN -0.0048 Sport results: Premier League: Brighton 0 vs 4 Manchester City | Manchester United 4 vs 2 Sheffield United | Everton 2 vs 0 Liverpool | Crystal Palace 2 vs 0 Newcastle | Wolves 0 vs 1 Bournemouth | Arsenal 5 vs 0 Chelsea SerieA: Udinese 1 vs 2 AS Roma European Championships Qualifying: Coventry City 2 vs 3 Hull City | Leicester City 5 vs 0 Southampton English Championship: Coventry City 2 vs 3 Hull City | Leicester City 5 vs 0 Southampton Weather: Katima Mulilo: 16° | 33° Rundu: 16° | 33° Eenhana: 16° | 35° Oshakati: 17° | 34° Ruacana: 17° | 35° Tsumeb: 18° | 32° Otjiwarongo: 14° | 31° Omaruru: 16° | 34° Windhoek: 15° | 29° Gobabis: 18° | 30° Henties Bay: 15° | 22° Wind speed: 26km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 10:31, High tide: 04:30, Low Tide: 22:38, High tide: 16:57 Swakopmund: 15° | 18° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:29, High tide: 04:28, Low Tide: 22:36, High tide: 16:55 Walvis Bay: 16° | 26° Wind speed: 34km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 10:29, High tide: 04:27, Low Tide: 22:36, High tide: 16:54 Rehoboth: 17° | 31° Mariental: 20° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 22° | 34° Aranos: 20° | 33° Lüderitz: 13° | 24° Ariamsvlei: 20° | 35° Oranjemund: 17° | 30° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 18° | 27° Lubumbashi: 11° | 25° Mbabane: 13° | 17° Maseru: 9° | 23° Antananarivo: 14° | 27° Lilongwe: 14° | 26° Maputo: 18° | 25° Windhoek: 15° | 29° Cape Town: 15° | 27° Durban: 17° | 22° Johannesburg: 15° | 23° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 31° Lusaka: 17° | 26° Harare: 14° | 26° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.44 | EUR to NAD 20.11 | CNY to NAD 2.6 | USD to NAD 18.81 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.71 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.68 | RUB to NAD 0.21 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.22 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.79 | USD to EGP 47.85 | USD to KES 134.48 | USD to NGN 1329.44 | USD to ZAR 18.8 | USD to ZMW 26.6 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74329.37 Down -0.25% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1642.69 Up +6.30% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13346.81 Up +0.49% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25917.59 Down -3.21% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 337.21/OZ UP +0.28% | Copper US$ 4.53/lb UP +0.32% | Zinc US$ 2 859.00/T UP 0.03% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 89.07/BBP UP +0.19% | Platinum US$ 911.53/OZ DOWN -0.0048